Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Increases Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 211,253 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,291 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Agilent Technologies worth $30,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 527.8% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 107.3% in the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $125.78 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $155.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $139.43 and its 200 day moving average is $138.43. The company has a market capitalization of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.15.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.